2016 is proving to be a very challenging year in terms of the crime trends, and the increase of movement in our Claremont Streets.
Whatsapp groups, Facebook pages, and community communications are all raising awareness, and keeping us vigilant; however our residents are becoming proportionally desensitized to the very frequent reporting of crime in and around their homes.
In many cases, crimes like, wall hopping, trespassing, attempted break-in etc. are not reported to SAPS. This gives a warped indication of crime statistics in Claremont, and in turn, our SAPS resources are judged by the amount of crime reported in our precinct.
Crime stats SA released the following crime statistics for the Claremont precinct in 2015:
Common assault: 98 cases
Common Robbery: 116 cases
Robbery with aggravating circumstances: 191 cases
Malicious Injury to Property: 367 cases
Burglary at non-residential property: 91 cases
Residential burglaries: 754 cases
Theft of motor vehicle: 250 cases
Theft out of motor vehicle: 1084 cases
All theft not mentioned elsewhere: 1690 cases
Car-jacking: 14 cases
Robbery at residential premises: 48 cases
Robbery at non-residential premises: 25 cases
These are just a few crime brackets; for the full report, please visit www.crimestatssa.com.
The average per month for reported crime in Claremont (for above figures only), is 394.17. In last month alone, Princeton is aware of 5 crimes that were not reported to SAPS, as nothing was stolen from the property, and therefore a CAS number was not needed for insurance.
In a bigger picture, if ALL crime is reported, SAPS will have a better knowledge of the movement in our streets and more concentration will be given to areas with a higher crime rate. Claremont SAPS might be under resourced in terms of sending a vehicle to your premises, but that shouldn’t stop anyone from going to the station and opening up a case there.
If an Officer is reluctant to take your case, it is your right to insist on opening one.
The importance of reporting crime is invaluable to both the residents of Claremont and SAPS.